I have recently updated my camera to use Cinestyle by technicolor and have had awesome results in the camera. However when i up load the ( low contrast) photos into light room it changes them automatically to a hight contrasted picture. I hate this feature is there any way around it. I want my pictures to be imported as the were shot and i want to edit the contrast back into it.

Cinestyle isn't supposed to be used on stills, it's a LUT curve for video files. There's no reason to use it if you're shooting RAW, as not only isn't the curve applied to the RAW file, but you have the bit depth in the image which makes applying it pointless in the first place.

Shooting RAW stills, your camera LCD will show the image with your chosen picture style applied but Lightroom will show you the image in it's "true" RAW state. Same thing if you apply a B+W picture style and shoot RAW - LR will show you the colored image, as the color image is still there despite what your LCD shows.

If you shoot JPEG, the picture style is burned into the data - so a Cinestyle image will look "cinestyle" and a B+W image can't be re-colored. DSLRs effectively shoot video by converting frames into JPEGs, which is why applying picture styles to video is important to give us the headroom in post.

Does an artist judge his work on the basis of a 2 or 3 inch LCD panel?

Still, I think there is a case for LR recognising that a raw file's embedded JPEG is monochrome and applying a B&W treatment upon import. Even better, it should evaluate the raw colour image versus the mono JPEG and replicate any coloured lens filter style.

You are trying to use Lightroom as a tool that it was not designed to be. LR is a program for photographers to process the raw data captured by digital still cameras. Yes it has functionality that allows it to also work with rendered files like tiff and jpeg but its main purpose is processing raw files. Lightroom has its own unique processes and profiles developed for each supported camera and does not use the profiles and other in camera settings and tastes that can be applied by the camera firmware/software. They have their own chef that is provining their own rendition of the raw data, and provide lots of tools to allow you to make your own creative adjustments.

Why would you pay a lot of money for Adobe software that rendered the same output that is provided by your camera. Each camera manufacturer provides their own style and rendition as did the various film manufacturers of slide and negative film like Kodak, Agfa etc. No software provides you with true reality, just what they percieve to be a realistic and pleasing capture.

I know this topic is a bit old, but I found myself in an odd Lightroom/Cinestyle situation and thought it might come in handy for someone else.

I hired a contractor to take photos and video with a 5D mk II. I asked for .CR2 photos and video using the Cinestyle profile. Unfortunately, the photos were taken as jpegs. Because the profile was set for Cinestyle the images came out Cinestyle flat. I tried editing in Lightroom and in Photoshop attempting to apply the S-Curve in curves, but nothing gave me a natural look. Therefore, I devised a workflow to apply the Cinestyle LUT to the image and work in Lightroom nondestructively.

This is going to seem roundabout, but it was the only way I could get the look I wanted from the images.

In order for this to work, you will need to convert the default "S-curve_for_CineStyle.mga" to .cube format using After Effects and Red Giant's free "LUT Buddy". (http://www.redgiant.com/products/all/magic-bullet-lut-buddy/) Once installed, Import the .mga LUT and export the .cube. (I would post the .cube file, but Technicolor is no longer offering the LUT for free).

Hey Dave I was just wondering; do you have any knowledge that pretains to if when shooting RAW stills under the CINESTYLE 'picture style' on the 5dIII, if my Raw images (used in Photoshop) will have less image quality or more grain vs. shooting on one of Canon's proprietary built-in image styles, i.e. Standard or Neutral (for stills). Thank you!!!

In long terms:Every single image a camera captures comes in a raw state (not RAW file type) through it's sensor, and then the processor inside the camera compresses the image into a file that your computer can read.

When you tell the camera to take JPEG pictures, the camera's processor compresses and converts that chunk of data captured by the sensor into an image. It "prints" the picture profile into your image, either being Canon's Standard, Neutral, your custom edited profile or Cinestyle.

Recording a movie goes through the same steps. It captures the image and compresses it to H.264 QT format.

You told the camera to do that when you chose the picture profile. JPEG is a compressed file, it's not meant to be messed with afterwards. PhotoJoe2001, this is what you want: JPEG pictures. Don't get angry with other people because you don't understand how your equipment works.

Well, back to our long explanation. When you are taking pictures in RAW format, it's a whole different story. The file that the processor generates has no compression. It makes a lot of sense to call that file "RAW".This file type has a lot more info than the JPEG, and more importantly, more info than your viewfinder can display. That's also why the file is so large.

So, you say to your camera: "Take RAW images".

Well, then your camera thinks: "OK, but I've gotta display this image in my viewfinder, so my user can view it. What should I display? Oh, I should use the picture profile previously set by my user".Then you should think: "Attaboy!"

That's because you WANT to see that look. Remember, it's just a look, the camera interprets that huge chunk of data (now it's a RAW file) so that the image LOOKS the way you want in it's viewfinder.

The thing is, picture profiles are installed on your camera, not on your computer. When you open that same RAW in Lightroom, this guy thinks: "I'll display this image using my default setup", which, by the way, looks like (not exactly) the Neutral picture profile your camera has.

Conclusion:If you are a photographer who want to mess with your photo afterwards, take RAW images. If you want the final image to look exactly as you see on your viewfinder, take JPEGs.